On tonight's episode of The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly asked Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer to weigh in on the presidential prospects of potential Republican challengers to President Obama - specifically, those of Fox News' own Sarah Palin.

O'Reilly asked Krauthammer why Palin is polling so far behind President Obama, as compared to other candidates like Mitt Romney and her Fox co-worker, Mike Huckabee. While initially, Krauthammer suggested that her lack of support was caused, in part because "the media's contributed enormously" to the "unprecedented" level of "animus to her," he focused the majority of his criticism on the way she has handled herself during her stint in the political spotlight. Watch:

Krauthammer remarked specifically on Palin's infamous interview with Katie Couric, noting that it was not a "gotcha interview" and that she was asked "fairly simple questions." While Krauthammer "would have hoped" that Palin would "spend the next years sort of getting really deep into policy" even though "it sounds really dull," he points out that this has not been the case.

Instead of studying up on policy, she has spent time, as Krauthammer notes, putting herself "out there," earning millions in free publicity by logging hours on Fox News.

Krauthammer is hardly the first Fox contributor to knock Palin's credentials. Karl Rove is a frequent critic and has questioned Palin's recent foray into reality television, suggesting that she lacked the "certain level of gravitas" required in a presidential candidate. Fellow Fox News contributor Morton Kondracke agreed with Rove and even toldMedia Matters' Joe Strupp that he thinks Palin is "a joke."

The year may be winding down, but the Fox News primary is certainly heating up.

On December 7, President-elect Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Media should take note of Pruitt’s climate science denial, his deep ties to the energy industries he will be charged with regulating, and his long record of opposition to EPA efforts to reduce air and water pollution and combat climate change.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked -- or considered -- nearly a dozen people who have worked in right-wing media, including talk radio, right-wing news sites, Fox News, and conservative newspapers, to fill his administration. And Trump himself made weekly guest appearances on Fox for a number of years while his vice president used to host a conservative talk radio show.